With the East Asians already eliminated, and Malaysia needing to win convincingly to remain in the hunt for a place in the quarter-finals, goals from Tao Qianglong and Xu Yue – China’s first of the tournament – saw Cheng Yaodong’s youngsters claim third spot in Group D, two points ahead of their opponents who finished fourth.

Despite their eventual capitulation, Malaysia began brightly at the Pakansari Stadium in Bogor as Nik Akif Syahiran stung the palms of China goalkeeper Peng Peng with a whipped free-kick inside the first two minutes.

Despite Tajikistan's loss, Malaysia's defeat to China PR meant Mubin Ergahsev's side will also advance to the knockout stage as group runners-up, where they will meet Korea Republic for a place in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The Central Asians had led through Sheriddin Boboev, but a second half brace from Safi Al Zaqarta and a third goal to Faraj Al Ghashayan ensured Saudi Arabia retained their perfect record.

The Young Socceroos are now just 90 minutes away from a first trip to the global youth showpiece since 2013, but it took a gritty 1-1 draw against Jordan - and several key interventions from Delianov - to keep them in contention.

The Melbourne City shot-stopper, who turned 19 the day after Australia's opening Group C fixture against Korea Republic, believes reaching the Finals in Poland would be a major boost for his burgeoning career.

The victory saw Thailand, who began the day occupying fourth place in Group C, to eventually finish second behind Japan and go through to the last eight where they will now meet Group A winners Qatar at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Sunday.

The win was Thailand’s first during their group stage campaign, and Ithsara believes an exemplary team spirit was key to the success.

Two penalties from Cho Young-wook along with Kim Hyun-woo’s scrambled effort proved the difference on a night when the East Asians, after being forced to come from behind, had things far from their own way.

Despite failing to hit top gear, Chung was nevertheless adamant that the victory, which confirmed a last eight meeting against the runners-up from Group D, will undoubtedly benefit his talented squad.

Thursday's 5-0 win over Iraq was a performance to behold, with Japan's stunning passing and movement proving far too much for the West Asians to handle, but - with a quarter-final against host nation Indonesia ahead - Kageyama called for calm.

"Today our players performed very well, not only in attack but also in defence, but we have not yet achieved anything," he said.

"The next match will be a very, very important match for us, so we will just focus on winning against Indonesia."

The Young Socceroos will play in the competition's knockout stage for the first time since 2012, but only after they negotiated 90 desperate minutes against a Jordan side who were themselves fighting to stay in the competition.

Milicic was frank in his assessment of the match, but said his players once again showed their fighting spirit to get the much needed result.